The present invention relates to a process for producing a novolak resin having a consistent molecular weight and a very low level of metal ions, especially sodium and iron, by using an acidic ion exchange resin as a catalyst in the production of such a novolak resin and to a process for using such a novolak resin in light-sensitive compositions. Further, the present invention relates to a process for coating substrates with these light-sensitive compositions as well as the process of coating, imaging and developing these light-sensitive mixtures on a substrate.
Photoresist compositions are used in microlithography processes for making miniaturized electronic components, such as in the fabrication of computer chips and integrated circuits. Generally, in these processes, a thin coating of film of a photoresist composition is first applied to a substrate material, such as a silicon wafer, used for making integrated circuits. The coated substrate is then baked to evaporate any solvent in the photoresist composition and to fix the coating onto the substrate. The baked coated surface of the substrate is next subjected to an image-wise exposure to radiation.
This radiation exposure causes a chemical transformation in the exposed areas of the coated surface. Visible light, ultraviolet (UV) light, electron beam and X-ray radiant energy are radiation types commonly used today in microlithographic processes. After this image-wise exposure, the coated substrate is treated with a developer solution to dissolve and remove either the radiation-exposed or the unexposed areas of the coated surface of the substrate.
Metal contamination has been a problem for a long time in the fabrication of high density integrated circuits and computer chips, often leading to increased defects, yield losses, degradation and decreased performance. In plasma processes, metals such as sodium and iron, when they are present in photoresists, can cause contamination, especially during plasma stripping. However, these problems can be overcome to a substantial extent during the fabrication process, e.g. by utilizing HCl gettering of the contaminants during a high temperature anneal cycle.
As semiconductor devices have become more sophisticated, these problems have become much more difficult to overcome. When silicon wafers are coated with a liquid positive photoresist which is subsequently stripped off, such as with oxygen microwave plasma, the performance and stability of the semiconductor device is often seen to decrease. As the plasma stripping process is repeated, more degradation of the device frequently occurs. A primary cause of such problems has been found to be the metal ion contamination in the photoresist, particularly sodium and iron ions. Metal levels of less than 1.0 ppm in the photoresist have been found to adversely affect the properties of such semiconductor devices.
Novolak resins are frequently used as a polymeric binder in liquid photoresist formulations. These resins are typically produced by conducting a condensation reaction between formaldehyde and one or more multi-substituted phenols, in the presence of an acid catalyst, such as oxalic acid or maleic anhydride. In producing sophisticated semiconductor devices, it has become increasingly important to provide novolak resin having metal contamination levels well below 1.0 ppm. During raw materials purification to remove metals, a very minor mount of nitrogen base is frequently also removed. In the absence of such nitrogen base, the production of novolak resin often failed because of the depolymerisation of resin that occured during the high temperature distillation step of the process.
There are two types of photoresist compositions, negative-working and positive-working. When negative-working photoresist compositions are exposed image-wise to radiation, the areas of the resist composition exposed to the radiation become less soluble to a developer solution (e.g. a cross-linking reaction occurs) while the unexposed areas of the photoresist coating remain relatively soluble to such a solution. Thus, treatment of an exposed negative-working resist with a developer causes removal of the non-exposed areas of the photoresist coating and the creation of a negative image in the coating, thereby uncovering a desired portion of the underlying substrate surface on which the photoresist composition was deposited.
On the other hand, when positive-working photoresist compositions are exposed image-wise to radiation, those areas of the photoresist composition exposed to the radiation become more soluble to the developer solution (e.g. a rearrangement reaction occurs), while those areas not exposed remain relatively insoluble to the developer solution. Thus, treatment of an exposed positive-working photoresist with the developer causes removal of the exposed areas of the coating and the creation of a positive image in the photoresist coating. Again, a desired portion of the underlying substrate surface is uncovered.
After this development operation, the now partially unprotected substrate may be treated with a substrate-etchant solution or plasma gases and the like. The etchant solution or plasma gases etch that portion of the substrate where the photoresist coating was removed during development. The areas of the substrate where the photoresist coating still remains are protected and, thus, an etched pattern is created in the substrate material which corresponds to the photomask used for the image-wise exposure of the radiation. Later, the remaining areas of the photoresist coating may be removed during a stripping operation, leaving a clean etched substrate surface. In some instances, it is desirable to heat treat the remaining photoresist layer, after the development step and before the etching step, to increase its adhesion to the underlying substrate and its resistance to etching solutions.
Positive working photoresist compositions are currently favored over negative working resists because the former generally have better resolution capabilities and pattern transfer characteristics. Photoresist resolution is defined as the smallest feature which the resist composition can transfer from the photomask to the substrate with a high degree of image edge acuity after exposure and development. In many manufacturing applications today, resist resolution on the order of less than one micron are necessary. In addition, it is almost always desirable that the developed photoresist wall profiles be nearly vertical relative to the substrate. Such demarcations between developed and undeveloped areas of the resist coating translate into accurate pattern transfer of the mask image onto the substrate.